21
I knocked on the door and waited patiently for Ricky to open it. Tyrell stood behind me on edge. We had taken the stairs and there had been about four or five college guys eyeing me on the way up and making crude comments. Needless to say that Tyrell wasn’t too happy and wanted to get into the apartment as soon as we could. When no one answered the door I sighed and grabbed the key from behind the crack in the door frame and let us in.
Tyrell shut the door behind us and I saw the kitchen window open. I shook my head; at least I know he was on the roof and not just ignoring the knocking. I looked to the right and saw Erica sitting on the bed by herself. I turned around to Tyrell.
“You should probably go up to the roof with my brother.”
“Okay.” He kissed me quickly and walked warily past the room as if he expected Erica to throw a vase or something. I didn’t blame him. The tension in the apartment was almost too thick to walk through. I looked into the room and walked over to stand in the doorway.
“Hey.”
Erica looked up at me and for the first time in almost a month she looked halfway normal. She had on shorts and a tank top more appropriate for summer than the sweats I had seen her walking around in before.
“Hey Shay.” She smiled.
“I got your phone call. And your messages. And Ricky’s messages.” I told her. I held my hands out to my sides, “I’m here.”
She smiled softly, “Thanks.”
I nodded, “You okay?”
She shrugged, “I guess. I mean… I knew all along what had happened but it was like I didn’t want to know. I tried to get rid of the memory. It’s… it’s scary Shay.”
I walked into the room and leaned against the wall with the window. I wanted to be here for her, but I didn’t really want to sit next to her on the bed. I didn’t want to get too comfortable.
“I can imagine. So…” I looked at her trying to read her face, “Are you okay now?”
Again, she shrugged, “I don’t know if ‘okay’ is the word to use to describe me. I’m better.” She offered, “I’m not… depressed or in denial anymore. I’ve accepted what happened and I’m trying to deal with it the best way I can right now…” she shook her head, “But I’m not okay Shay. I’m really not.” She looked at me with teary eyes.
A small part of me knew that I should feel more upset for her. I was upset because no one should have to go through what she was going through, but at the same time, I knew that I could never sympathize with her the way that I used to. That bond that we had previously shared had been broken, shattered, and completely severed to a point of no repair. So I was upset for her; I wanted her to feel better and have someone to confide in, but I don’t want to be that person. As I stood there looking at her teary eyes, I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how I could make her feel any better and be honest with her and myself at the same time.
I sighed and looked at her sympathetically, “I’m sorry Erica.” I barely had time to think about my next words before they were out of my mouth, “Is there anything that I can do to help?”
She looked at me with hopeful eyes and I almost immediately regretted asking, “Can you forgive me Shay? For what I said? I… I didn’t mean it.” When I didn’t say anything her eyes went from hopeful to pleading, “Please Shay. Can we just go back to how we used to be? Forget that all this happened? Please. I really need a friend right now…”
I looked at her apologetically, “I’m sorry Erica… I forgive you but… I don’t think that’s possible.”
Her face dropped, “What’s not possible?”
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Summer Vacation
Teen FictionMy name is Shaina Jones. This is my story. Its not "Lovey-dovey" but it's not "hardcore" either. It's real. This is the summer where everything became real. It's not that things were fake before, it's just when everything changed. Where people had t...
